ADARA GROUP - Key Persons

Andrea McCormick

Job Titles:

Director
Member of the Adara Advisors Board
Senior Advisor
Director of Adara Development ( Australia )

Andres Cabrera Flamini

Job Titles:

Monitoring & Evaluation Manager

Andres is Adara's Monitoring and Evaluation Manager. Andres joins Adara with over a decade of experience across humanitarian, development and academic sectors. He has a particular focus on programme and capacity development in water services, WASH, and leadership. Most recently, he coordinated the development of a graduate online programme for humanitarian WASH, led by UNICEF and IHE-Delft. Prior to that, he worked with IHE-Delft as a lecturer/researcher in the Water Governance Department and with the Colombian Red Cross as national coordinator of the WASH emergency response, community development, and research partnerships lines. Andres is currently in the last stretch of his PhD research, focused on the alignment between strategic frameworks/indicators and staff views of sustainability in water utilities. He holds an MSc in Water Management (with Distinction) from IHE-Delft, and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering (Magna Cum Laude) from Tufts University.

Angjuk Lama

Job Titles:

Nepal Programme Manager

Anna Cunningham

Job Titles:

Clinical Programmes Manager

Anna (RN, BSN, MPH) is a long-time health care professional currently using her clinical nursing and medical writing skills in a global health setting as Adara's Clinical Programmes Manager. Anna has worked with the University of Washington, UC San Diego, and other organizations in clinical, research, and educational roles. She and her family live near Seattle where she enjoys trail runs with friends, traveling to new places, and cooking foods from around the world.

Audette Exel - CEO

Job Titles:

Chief Executive Officer
Member of the Adara Advisors Board
CEO, Adara Advisors & Adara Partners
Chairman of All Adara Entities

Brooke Magnusson

Job Titles:

Global Health Director

Brooke is Adara's Global Health Director. Brooke has over 15 years' experience in the health and international sectors. She is passionate about bringing evidence-based practice into real-world application so that people around the globe receive quality healthcare. She has worked for non-profit, corporate, and public organisations with a background in research, grant and project management, and strategic planning. Brooke loves leading teams and bringing people together to move toward a shared vision. She received a BA in communication and an MA in policy studies. In her spare time, she loves experimenting in the kitchen, exploring the outdoors with her family, and aspires to become a great tap dancer.

Caitlin McGrath

Job Titles:

Senior Programmes Manager

Caitlin is Adara's Senior Programmes Manager. Caitlin comes to Adara with over a decade of experience working with communities in Uganda and with not-for-profits globally. Caitlin holds a Bachelor of International Studies and a Masters in International development (UNSW), and is pursuing a professional doctorate in social impact measurement with local communities. Caitlin is passionate about innovative solutions to poverty and transforming the not-for-profit sector to focus on impact. She brings her skills in strategic programme management and working cross culturally to the Senior Programme Manager role. She spends her weekends with her two young children and loves skiing in winter and the beach in summer.

Caroline Akomolot

Job Titles:

Maternal Health Trainer

Christine Otai

Job Titles:

Newborn National Trainer

Christine is the Newborn National Trainer as part of Adara's Uganda team. Christine worked at Kiwoko Hospital for 28 years. For nine of these years she worked as ward manager in the Kiwoko Hospital maternity ward and for 18 years she worked as a ward manager of the Adara-Kiwoko neonatal intensive care unit. In 2010, Christine was honoured with the International Neonatal Award for Excellence in recognition of her incredible work at Kiwoko Hospital. Christine is currently involved in Adara's work at Nakaseke Hospital and the ABAaNa early intervention programme for children with disabilities.

Daniel Kabugo

Job Titles:

Uganda Country Director

Daniel is Adara's Uganda Country Director. Daniel has been a friend of Adara since 2004. He began volunteering with Adara's programme with at-risk youth in 2008 before starting to work with Adara in 2014. Daniel holds a Master of Public Health and a Bachelor's Degree in Guidance and Counselling (Social Work). Prior to taking on a role with Adara, Daniel worked as the Laboratory Manager for Kiwoko Hospital, a position he held from 2007-2014. Daniel grew up in the Luwero area. During the civil war, Daniel spent three years of his childhood hiding in the bush with his parents, brothers and sisters to escape persecution. It was a difficult time for Daniel, and this experience served as the motivation for his work with vulnerable children as an adult. In his free time, Daniel enjoys playing football with his son and cycling with his daughter. He also loves eating chilli, and while travelling in the US, developed a love of hot dogs.

David Walker

Job Titles:

Head of Information Technology

David is the Head of Information Technology of the Adara Group. David completed his studies in the US before moving to Toronto and joining the Prudential Group. Following Prudential, David remained in the financial services sector working for Mercantile & General, Life Re, Swiss Re America and Vietnam Re on short / long term secondments. He also worked on international assignments in Asia, USA, UK and Canada before finally settling in Australia with Swiss Re Australia New Zealand. David is married with two children (a Canadian and an Aussie) and when not spending time with the family or travelling, you can find him racing yachts on Sydney Harbour.

Dawa Lama Thapa

Job Titles:

Director
Director of Adara Development ( Nepal )

Dawa Lama Thapa is a Director of Adara Development (Nepal). She is a professional psychosocial counsellor and an ex-Adara staff, who worked as a Manager for Adara Development Nepal from 15 April 2008 until 31 December 2010. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in Psychological Counselling and also a diploma in Tibetan Language. She completed her B. Ed in 1977 and B.A in 1970. She has completed Diploma in Montessori Methodology, and trainings in Professional Counselling, Sand Tray Therapy and Peace Corps Overseas Staff Development Training. In 1994, she conducted a short term research study on ‘'Women's Voices'' in Humla District sponsored by ICIMOD. She worked as a High School Teacher in Mustang from December 1970 till December 1978 and also worked as the Principal in the same school in between her years there for more than a year. She again worked as a High School Teacher in Kathmandu valley from 1979 till 1984. She worked as a Language Instructor in School of International Living, Kathmandu form August 1984 till June 1985. Later, she joined US Peace Corps as a Program Manager from August 1985 till March 2004. Dawa lives in Kathmandu with her husband and has a son, daughter and four grand children. Her daughter is a Colonel in Nepal Army and son is doing his Phd degree in Australia.

Derek Stapley

Job Titles:

Chartered Accountant
Independent Director on the Boards
Trustee of Adara Development ( UK )

Derek is a Trustee of Adara Development (UK). Derek is a Chartered Accountant with thirty years' experience in the Financial Services Industry. Derek currently serves as an independent director on the boards of several private or listed investment funds, insurance companies and private client structures. He chairs the Audit and Risk Committee for several of these companies. Derek is a former partner in Ernst & Young's Financial Services Office. He spent 20 years with Ernst & Young, Bermuda holding a number of positions including several years as the leader of the Investment Funds Practice. In 2006 he joined Ernst & Young's Global Asset Management Group where he specialised in the Alternative Investment Industry before leaving the Firm in 2009. Derek, who is Scottish and Bermudian, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from the Caledonian University in Glasgow. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and of the Institute of Directors in Bermuda. Derek lives in Bermuda and is an avid traveller. His hobbies include football, hiking, running, mountain biking, photography and working on wildlife conservation and community based projects in Africa.

Dhana Shahi

Job Titles:

Junior Technical Assistant

Dhana is Adara's Junior Technical Assistant. Dhana joined the Adara team in 2012. In his role, he provides hands on skill on infrastructure works such as masonry, carpentry, plumbing and electrical. He also guides and mobilises communities on the ground. Prior to working with Adara, Dhana worked for another organisation on infrastructure related projects such as greenhouses, drinking water systems, solar power and pit latrines. When he is not at work, Dhana likes to spend time with his family, and to help his family members on household works. He also loves carpentry and making furniture.

Dr Peter Waiswa - Founder

Job Titles:

Director
Founder
Leader
Associate Professor of Health Policy Planning and Management of the School of Public Health
Director of Adara Development ( Uganda )

Dr Peter Waiswa is a Director of Adara Development (Uganda). Dr. Waiswa is an Associate Professor of Health Policy Planning and Management of the School of Public Health at Makerere University College of Health Sciences. He has training in medicine (Mbarara University, Uganda) and in Public Health (Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel) and a PhD and Postdoc (both joint Makerere University and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden). He has been part of many strategic policies and initiatives especially in the areas of maternal, newborn and child health. He is a leading African academic with over one hundred publications including books. He is also part of advocacy efforts, especially to advance maternal, newborn and child health in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) era. These efforts have contributed to the UN's Ending Preventable Maternal Death and Disability strategy and the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) which are driving global policies with impact at scale up. Dr Waiswa is co-lead of the EN-INDEPTH five countries study that is further validating how to measure these indicators in health systems in low- and middle-income countries. He was the Principal Investigator (PI) for the Saving Mothers Giving Life (SMGL) project in Uganda that achieved a 40% reduction in maternal deaths. These experiences in a pilot were adapted into the Uganda National Plan for maternal, newborn and child health reduction, and the same strategy is being used in Nigeria and other countries, at scale. He is co-PI of the Uganda Full Country Evaluation (FCE). He is also a member of Uganda's National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) whose findings have informed Uganda's Financing Plan for Immunisation, the Uganda Immunisation Act, and the Uganda New Vaccines introduction Plan, with the associated scale up strategies. He is also a member of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of Experts (STAGE) for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition. Dr Waiswa is a founder and leader of initiatives that build capacity and generate evidence for maternal, newborn and child health in low- and middle-income countries. He started the Makerere University Maternal Newborn and Child Health Centre of Excellence and the INDEPTH Network Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Research Group. The former advances MNCH issues mainly in Uganda whereas the later does so around the world. INDEPTH is a network of over 54 Health Demographic Surveillance Sites (HDSS) in over 25 countries in Africa and Asia. Dr Waiswa provides agile leadership and empowerment in the difficult situations of low- and middle-income countries to motivate and lead teams so that they deliver superior performance while encouraging collaboration internally and externally. Globally, Dr. Waiswa is/has participated regularly in an advisory role to WHO, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, International Pediatric Association, East African Community, African Academy of Sciences, and more.

Dr. Cyril Engmann

Job Titles:

Director
Director of Adara Development ( USA )
Senior Director of Quality

Dr Cyril Engmann is a Director of Adara Development (USA). Dr. Cyril Engmann is the Senior Director of Quality and Program Impact, and Institutional Official at PATH, an international health non-profit organization driving transformative innovation to save lives in more than 70 countries. As Senior Director, he serves as the senior leader accountable for providing deep scientific, medical, and public health expertise, operational excellence, oversight, and leadership across all divisions of PATH to strengthen organizational impact. As Institutional Official, he oversees all of PATH's research and regulatory affairs, including the confidential institutional review and/or approval process of proposed research activities involving human subjects. Prior to this, Dr. Engmann served as the Director of the Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN) global program at PATH. In that role, he led a department of over 120 staff (physicians, public health practitioners, social scientists, nutritionists, economists, engineers, and business, policy, and communications experts) working on five continents across a diverse and complex portfolio spanning the value chain from research, education, policy and planning, programming, implementation science, monitoring and evaluation, market dynamics, and technical assistance at global and national levels with a pipeline totalling over $300M. Prior to joining PATH in 2014, Dr. Engmann led the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Newborn Health Strategy where he designed and oversaw a portfolio of grants totalling $200M. He also remains an active, practicing physician and academic at the University of Washington Schools of Medicine & Public Health, Seattle, where he is Attending Neonatologist and Professor of Pediatrics and Global Health. Widely regarded as a global leader in the field and with extensive experience in the research, policy, advocacy, and program spheres, Dr. Engmann is credited with initiating and holding leadership roles within several global efforts adopted by all 194 signatory countries of the United Nations, including the Every Newborn Action Plan, the Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development Framework, the Global Preterm Research Consortium, and the Maternal Immunization Consortium. He regularly educates and conducts briefings at the United States Congress on domestic and international challenges and solutions related to maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition, and chaired a consortium that advised the British Government on their global nutrition portfolio spend. He has led numerous health consultations and educational briefings with Ministries of Health of Ethiopia, India, Ghana, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa, and others. Domestically, he sits on the United States National Institute of Health Expert Panel that advises on all US-Government-sponsored COVID-19 trials and serves on the Washington Research Foundation postdoctoral fellowship program. He has authored over 130 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, abstracts, and white papers, and was lead author of the expert groups who outlined what the next 20 years should look like for the field of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, and in another publication, for maternal immunization. He is a frequent keynote speaker at major global conferences, and serves on numerous international strategic, policy, and scientific advisory boards and steering committees. In addition to currently mentoring staff and faculty in academic and non-academic settings, he has taught and supervised generations of undergraduate, masters, and doctoral-level public health students, and medical students, residents, and fellows in the United States and abroad. He has been an external examiner for the University of Queensland, Australia, and Malawi College MPH programs and has practiced medicine in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Dr. Engmann is a Board-Certified active pediatrician and neonatologist and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society for Pediatric Research. Dr. Engmann has dedicated his life to addressing social injustice, improving health, and combating health inequity. He is passionate about driving organizational impact through strategic, interdisciplinary, purpose-driven partnerships, about the value of learning, and about utilizing data evidence to improve the human condition and put bold solutions into action.

Edith G. Conyers

Job Titles:

Trustee
Director and Chief Executive Officer of IKONIC Fund Services Ltd
Trustee of Adara Development ( Bermuda )

Edith G Conyers is a Trustee of Adara Development (Bermuda). Edith G. Conyers is one of the principal founders and a director and Chief Executive Officer of IKONIC Fund Services Ltd., (formerly ISIS Fund Services Ltd.) a fund administration company established and licensed in Bermuda in 2007 to provide comprehensive fund administration services to investment managers with both offshore and onshore funds and other cross border structures. Until May 2007, Edith was General Manager of Citigroup Fund Services (Bermuda) Ltd. (formerly Forum Fund Services Ltd.) and was an integral part of establishing that company in September 1997 with assets under administration growing to approximately $30 billion. Prior to setting up Citigroup Bermuda, Edith held the position of General Manager of International Corporate Management of Bermuda Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bermuda Commercial Bank Limited, specializing in offshore fund administration and exempt company management. Edith has over thirty years of banking and offshore fund administration and company management experience. Prior to moving to Bermuda, she was a lending officer in the Energies Division of Chemical Bank, New York. She graduated with a BA from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Edith acts as director of a number of offshore funds and companies, a director of The Association of Bermuda International Companies and a member of the Investment Funds Act Committee of Business Bermuda as well as a number of its sub-committees.

Emmanuel Harerimana

Job Titles:

Monitoring & Evaluation Assistant

Emmanuel is Adara's Monitoring and Evaluation Assistant. Emmanuel holds Bachelor's Degree in Information systems from Makerere University, a Postgraduate certificate in Data Analysis, and a Certificate in ICT and Business Practical Training. He has five years experience in Data Management, Analysis, Reporting, Monitoring & Evaluation in health-related projects. He has previously worked with Makerere University Joint AIDS Program (MJAP). In his spare time, Emmanuel enjoys poetry, stories and nature.

Frank Migadde

Job Titles:

Executive Assistant

Frank is Executive Assistant to Adara's Uganda Country Director. Frank holds a Diploma in Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts in Community Development, and Master of Arts in Development Studies. He has a range of work experience within the administrative field including previous roles with Ndejje University and the Good Samaritan Women's Project. In his free time, Frank enjoys listening to music, dancing, jogging and spending time with his family.

Gagan Rokaya

Job Titles:

Agriculture Coordinator

Gagan has worked with Adara since 2011 as our Agriculture Coordinator. In his role, he organises and conducts capacity building training on seasonal and off-season agricultural production and marketing skills. He also implements Adara's agriculture related activities. Gagan loves being part of the solution to Humla's food shortage problems and is proud of the way that innovative technology like greenhouses can play to improve the lives of Humli people. Before Adara, Gagan worked for another NGO as an Agriculture Assistant. Gagan has a certificate in Agriculture from KTS, Jumla. When he is not at work, Gagan enjoys playing and watching football, spending time with his family, and experiment various fruits and vegetables in his greenhouse.